This week's egtabite takes a visit to the glamorous world of fashion, featuring a multimedia concept package developed by RTL Nederland around its popular show Holland’s Next Top Model (HNTM).

The project made full use of digital and social media layers in support of the programming on RTL 5, successfully extending the show’s reach and engagement as well as providing enhanced opportunities for its sponsors, Renault and Colgate.

This multi-platform initiative was designed to help RTL reach the increasingly elusive Millennials target group – HNTM’s core audience being females aged 20-34 – increase viewer engagement, extend the programme beyond the regular broadcasting period and to build an effective communication platform for the broadcaster’s partners.

The concept

The project started six months before the first episodes of HNTM hit TV screens, with an online competition sponsored by Colgate to find the show’s final wildcard contestant. 1,166 girls entered the contest, sending in pictures of themselves from head to toe, including their most winning smiles, which generated 100,000 votes and reached almost 1.5 million people on Facebook. Aspiring model Sanne de Roo won the online vote and went on to reach the final of the show itself, narrowly missing out on the top spot.

RTL Nederland partnered up with the country’s top fashion news destination, ILoveFashionNews.com, running an online soap opera that featured the site’s leading lady of fashion – Annic van Wonderen – in parallel with HNTM. The web soap made a perfect match for the TV show, helping to activate a younger audience by offering a glimpse into life behind the scenes as well as a competition for fans to win a day’s shopping in Paris with Annic. It also presented additional opportunities for Renault to showcase its Twingo model, with the star regularly appearing with the reasonably priced car.

The Twingo also found a natural place in the television show through product placement, including a fashion shoot featuring the car alongside the models, with the brand also being mentioned at key moments such as results shows.

Social media naturally played a major role in the project, with Instagram and Facebook offering particularly significant support for the online and TV content.



The impact

RTL Nederland achieved several objectives by taking Holland’s Next Top Model beyond the television screen and into a multi-platform environment:

• The duration of the show was extended significantly
• HNTM achieved an average audience of 525,000 (plus 84,000 in repeats), of which 71% were female and 29% male, 34% in the target 20-34 and 66% in the target 20-49
• The HNTM website was visited more than 426,000 times, generating 3.2 million video views
• The web soap featuring Annic was viewed almost 400,000 times

Furthermore, the show’s social media channels saw large increases:

• The number of Facebook fans doubled from 15,000 to 29,641
• Instagram grew from 10,000 to 18,818

The brand integration was very successful for Renault as well. Research by MarketResponse showed that the proportion of viewers that recognised Renault as a sponsor was above the RTL Benchmark, and Renault Twingo was seen as a good sponsorship match. The sponsorship had a positive effect on image, with the Renault Twingo scoring well on values such as Spacious, Connected, Want to have, Is full of extras.
The sponsorship also resulted in increased buying intention among viewers vs. non viewers (25% vs. 19%).

Why this matters for egta members?

This case demonstrates how digital platforms can be used to increase a show’s duration, generating enthusiasm and triggering connections with an audience that television is finding increasingly difficult to reach. The involvement of relevant partners to offer additional content and engagement opportunities is another great aspect of the Holland’s Next Top Model initiative.

In addition to building an engaged audience, this case also shows how an advertiser’s products can be integrated with the content in a way that is natural and that can boost brand metrics.